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Contributed by Chad Grubbs, HSU Director of Athletic Communications
ABILENE, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' baseball team pushed its winning streak to eight straight games, the longest for the Cowboys since April of 2009, with a doubleheader sweep of the University of Dallas, 3-0 and 7-6, on Sunday afternoon at Hunter Field.
Game 1
Senior Colton Spears threw his second complete-game shutout of the season as he allowed just four hits and struck out three to improve to 3-2 on the year.
With a strong north wind making it a tough day for hitters, the Cowboys were able to scratch across single runs in the first three innings and Spears made them hold up.
Taylor Cooling started off a big day being hit by a pitch in the first and moved to second on a sac bunt. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a balk. In the second inning Colton Pea**** had a one-out double and he came around to score on an Elijah Perez double.
In the third, Cooling once again led off the inning being hit by a pitch and he moved to third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run with Jamie Ball. The Crusaders tried to pick off Ball at first and he was in a rundown and the throw got away allowing Cooling to score.
Pea**** had two of the five hits for the Cowboys and Rene Vargas had two hits for Dallas. Luciano Villanueva allowed five hits and three runs in six innings of work to fall to 0-1 on the year.
Game 2
In the second game, the Cowboys had to rally to keep the winning streak alive and did with three runs in the seventh inning.
Zach San Roman had a squeeze bunt and Thomas Martin an RBI single in a two-run first for UD.
Caleb Jacques made it 2-1 with an RBI single in the second for HSU and Cooling had a two-run double in the fourth to give HSU a 3-2 lead.
In the Cowboys' winning streak their defense has been solid, but the Cowboys had a slip-up in the fifth inning with three errors in the frame to allow UD to score four runs. Thomas Martin had a two-run double and J.P. Fasone an RBI single. It chased HSU starter Ty Engelhardt, who deserved a better fate as he allowed six run runs, but only two were earned.
Kyle Barnett relieved Engelhardt and got out the final two outs of the fifth inning and then worked the final four innings after that to earn the win. He allowed only two hits and struck out three to improve to 2-0 on the year.
Cole Marden the fourth of five pitchers for UD took the loss allowing three runs in two-thirds of an inning to fall to 1-1 on the year.
HSU trailed 6-3 after the top of the fifth inning. The Cowboys scored a single run in the fifth inning on a wild pitch. In the sixth inning HSU had runners on second and third with two outs but ended up leaving the bases loaded.
The Cowboys took the lead in the seventh with three runs. Cody Berryman tripled and scored when they tried to pick him off third and threw it away. With two outs and nobody on, Cooling double to left and Zack de Luna doubled him home to tie the game and then Jamie Ball followed with an RBI single to right for the go-ahead run.
Cooling had five hits in the game for HSU. Berryman added three hits and Ball, de Luna and Jacques had two hits each. With hits in each game, de Luna has hit safely in all 16 games and going back to last season has an 18-game hitting streak. Martin had two hits and drove in three for UD.
The Cowboys are now 10-6 on the year and UD fell to 4-15 on the year. HSU will return to American Southwest Conference action next weekend when it hosts East Texas Baptist starting Friday at 7 p.m.
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